I was never impressed by the idea of a “chief social
worker”. I’m sure such a person could speak to meetings and brief journalists,
but to be honest I can’t see what else they are supposed to do. Perhaps somebody
knows.
One thing I would expect the chief social worker to be
interested in is innovation - new ideas, new approaches, new ways of working.
I searched the Internet for the contact details of the Chief
Social Worker for Children, Isabelle Trowler. I found lots about her role and
her experience but nothing about how to contact her.
https://www.gov.uk/government/people/isabelle-trowler
Isabelle – I think I have an idea (as Michael Caine said at
the end of the Italian Job ).
How can I tell you about it? You have no email address, no form to fill in, no
point of contact.
Speak to me!! Better still, listen to me. Maybe you’ll read
this – probably not but it’s worth a try?
My idea is quite simple. Child protection social workers
should seek to understand and adopt approaches developed in other safety critical industries, like aviation,
anaesthesia and surgery. Human Factors
training (HF) emerged in civil aviation during the late 1970s and 1980s but did
not gain widespread acceptance until the 1990s. It has now become mandatory for
all US and European airlines. In recent years HF thinking has been found to be
transferable to medical contexts such as surgery and anaesthesia. It has been found that it can also be used very successfully with child
protection professionals. A short basic course of one or two days duration equips
someone with sufficient knowledge to begin to practice HF thinking at work,
using it to help reduce and mitigate
workplace error. Knowledge of
human-factors complements important child-protection skills and helps
professionals to filter complex information and identify patterns that indicate
harm or risk. This sceptical, professionally curious approach is what saves
lives and reduces the risk of future harm.
Come on Isabelle. I could tell you more, a lot more. But I
do need to know how to contact you. My email address is chris-mills-child-protection-blog@gmx.co.uk. What’s yours?
